|
This week we begin
the Sefer of Shemos – the book of exile and redemption. It begins “V’eleh
shmos bnei Yisroel haba’im Mitzraima (1:1)” – and these are the names of
the children of Yisroel who came to Egypt. Although this had been
mentioned already in Breishis, this descent into Mitzraim, this
commencement of the galus (exile), must begin this book of galus.
A new king arose in
Mitzraim “asher lo yada es Yosef (1:8)” – who didn’t know Yosef. Rashi
explains that he chose to act as if he didn’t know Yosef. He chose to
ignore the tremendous debt of gratitude that Mitzraim owed to Yosef.
The Kli Yakar
explains that this passuk is explaining the folly of this Paroah. He
didn’t know what had happened with Yosef. He didn’t comprehend that as
much as the brothers had tried to destroy Yosef and his dreams, the will
of Hashem had prevailed. He didn’t learn that lesson. He didn’t know
Yosef. He foolishly thought that he could stymie that Divine Will.
Chaza”l (Sotah 11a)
teach that Paroah summoned three advisers to help decide how to deal with
his ‘Jewish problem’: Bilaam, Iyov and Yisro. Bilaam advised Paroah to
enslave Bnei Yisroel. Yisro ran away. Iyov sat silently. Bilaam’s
heavenly retribution was death at the hands of Bnei Yisroel. Iyov
received incredible ‘yissurim’ – agonizing bodily afflictions. Yisro
merited having descendants who became members of the Sanhedrin.
Wasn’t the
murderous advice of Bilaam far worse than the silence of Iyov? Why did
Bilaam merit a relatively quick, painless death while Iyov had to endure
a full year of torturous pain? Rav Chaim Shmuelovitz explains that the
Torah here is revealing to us that life itself is a gift. Bilaam was
punished far more severely than Iyov! He no longer had this gift of life!
Even with all of his suffering, Iyov was alive.
In our ‘Jack
Kevorkian’ day and age we find this hard to accept… What kind of life is
a life filled with suffering?
I’ll take the
liberty of deviating from my usual format and enclosing a letter written
to me by a talmid (student) some time ago and my response to him. (I’ve
edited a bit and removed his name.) Perhaps it will help shed some light
on this issue.
“Dear Rabbi Ciner,
I hope all is well with you and your family.
As you may know,
the issue of doctor assisted suicide for terminally ill patients has
become a hot one here in the U.S. A new statistic shows that over sixty
percent of the country agree that it should be allowed. The case for it
is even being heard by the Supreme Court. I understand that since this
isn’t an issue of simply pulling the plug, the Torah would forbid any
such actions. And if one is still capable of performing a mitzva, any
mitzva, that would probably be reason enough to forbid assisted suicide
or suicide period. But then, when an animal is suffering we are required
to put it to death. Why shouldn’t we show at least the same kind of mercy
towards another human being.
Thank G-d I’m only
asking out of curiosity, though I would like to know what the halacha is
in regards to this.
Thanks.”
I responded as
follows:
Dear ***,
Hi, I hope all is
well. Halacha would certainly forbid this. Let’s understand why. I would
imagine that even the staunchest proponents of this ‘physicians assisted
suicide’ would agree that there should be a minimum age requirement. In
other words, whether that age would be set at four, nine or eighteen,
they would agree that if a terminally ill child younger than that would
request a physician assisted suicide, we should not fulfill his wishes.
Why is that? Clearly because we feel that he doesn’t have a mature enough
understanding of life in order to make such a decision.
Judaism believes
that the only one with a clear enough understanding to take life is the
One who gives life. The gulf between the level of our understanding and
that of a nine year old is infinitesimal when compared to the gulf
between Hashem’s understanding and ours.
I remember hearing
a story of a doctor who couldn’t bear watching the misery of a terminally
ill, suffering patient who clearly was imminently going to die. He
‘mercifully’ pulled the plug. A few nights later this person came to him
in a dream screaming that he had only needed a few more hours of yisurim
(suffering) and then would have been worthy of entering a very high level
of Gan Eden (paradise in the world to come). Now that his life had been
prematurely ended, that opportunity was taken away. Now, whether you want
to view that dream as a true spiritual visit or as the subconscious
thoughts of a tormented individual, we do believe that this world is
simply the preparatory corridor leading to the next. Every moment here is
part of the Divine plan. Taking a moments life away from a person is
depriving him of that G-d given opportunity. Very possibly depriving him
of what otherwise would have been his in the world to come. All and any
who try to subvert that Will haven’t grasped the lesson of Yosef. They
too, like Paroah, ‘don’t know Yosef’.
There are six
constant mitzvos that one can fulfill at all times. These are:
1.To know and to
believe that there is a G-d who created this world and all that it
contains. He is actively involved in all that transpires here. He took us
out of Mitzraim and He gave us the Torah.
2.To not believe in any other god or source of power.
3.Belief that Hashem is One.
4.To love Hashem.
5.To fear Hashem.
6.To not be swayed after our hearts (heretical thoughts) or after our
eyes (adultery and other worldly desires).
Regardless of one’s
physical condition, these mitzvos are fulfilled through thoughts.
Certainly if one uses those moments to draw close to Hashem with t’shuva
(repentance), those few moments would drastically alter one’s afterlife.
There is a famous
story of the Vilna Gaon’s wife and a friend who used to collect charity
for needy causes together. They had agreed that whoever would die first
would visit the other in a dream and would tell of the reward waiting in
the next world for this mitzva. True to the agreement, the friend visited
the Gaon’s wife after her death. “Do you remember the time we went to the
wealthy man and there was no answer at the door? We began to walk away
and then we saw his carriage pulling up. We both said ‘There he is’, but
I raised my arm to point in his direction and you didn’t. For that extra
effort that I put into the mitzva, I was recorded in a totally different
book. It was considered an entirely different type of mitzva.”
The reward for a
moment’s fulfillment of a mitzva or even part of a mitzva is
immeasurable. Depriving an individual of such an opportunity is a vicious
form of cruelty, certainly not an act of mercy.
The situation is
completely different by animals. Animals have no neshama (soul) and no
afterlife. The purpose of their existence is to aid man in his lofty
mission.
The Mishna (Brachos
and Megilah) states that if one prays by saying, “Hashem, you showed your
compassion to the nest of a bird (the mitzva of shiloach hakayn – sending
away the mother bird), have compassion on us!”, we are told to quiet him.
The Talmud explains that this is not a proper prayer because it makes
Hashem’s mitzvos into compassionate acts whereas they are, in fact,
decrees.
The Ohr Yahel
explains as follows. By praying in such a fashion, we are transforming
the mitzva into the compassionate will of Hashem. That is missing the
whole point! We know that Hashem is compassionate! The mitzva is a decree
that must be fulfilled in order for us to learn to be compassionate. To
transform us into compassionate beings. Perhaps, if the animal will no
longer be able to function here and it will be in pain, its purpose is
now to enable us to be merciful by putting it out of its misery.
By an animal we see
the whole picture, by man we hardly see a drop in the ocean. By an animal
we are equipped to make such a decision and to show mercy, by a human
being we are not.
May we recognize
the incredible gift of life – the wealth of opportunities that each
moment of life offers – and utilize them to the best of our abilities.
Wishing you a
wonderful Shabbos,
Yisroel Ciner
Copyright © 1998 by
Rabbi Yisroel Ciner and Project
Genesis, Inc.
The author teaches
at Neveh Tzion in Telzstone (near
Yerushalayim).
|
Comments
Post a Comment